As a collective, Alberta’s volunteers are often the first
people to recognize what social, political, economic,
cultural, and philosophical issues and needs should be
publicly addressed. Volunteers are doers. They are an
outward expression of Albertans’ values, they tackle what we
believe are important topics, and they help shape the
quality of our lives and our communities.

From giving (to date) the largest private land donation
in Canadian history, to helping bring hot lunches to poor
Albertans, to crusading for social causes, to celebrating
and nurturing our dynamic arts communities, to simply
holding someone’s hand in crisis — Alberta’s volunteer
collective is made up of individuals, with individual
stories.

People volunteer for a myriad of reasons. As unique as a
fingerprint, the reasons people volunteer are diverse.
Generally, most people volunteer as a means to give back to
the community and/or they want to make a difference to the
betterment of an individual, group, or cause.

Learning how to work on a team, learning transferable
people and organizational skills, experiencing successful
outcomes, and witnessing the positive difference an
individual volunteer can make are just some of the rewards
and experiences gained by volunteering.

It’s not uncommon for individual volunteers to wonder if
volunteering in areas of personal and/or professional
interest is really volunteering. A young student may
question if volunteer coaching is volunteering because it’s
fun. A full time working professional who volunteers on
numerous boards that are related to areas of interest may
ask if what he or she does is volunteering. Wholeheartedly,
volunteering without expectation of direct financial gain is
still volunteering. In fact, individuals who align volunteer
endeavours with areas of interest are often lifelong
volunteers.